Jealous Much?
by Sydelle Rein
Summary: 'There was a strange gurgling in his stomach. And he didn't like it—not one little bit. He forced his eyes away from the two. But no matter how many times he looked away his gaze returned to the same place.'A short KD fic. Now extended!
1. Part One

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to TP.

A/N: This is just a short one-shot that's been running around my head for the last couple of days. In case you get a bit confused, this is set about a year after LK at a ball celebrating the end of the war with Scanra. Hope you like it! R&R please.

There was a strange gurgling in his stomach. And he didn't like it—not one little bit. He forced his eyes away from the two. But no matter how many times he looked away his gaze returned to the same place.

They were dancing. Kel and Neal were dancing. Not that he cared, he told himself hurriedly. It was just that…Neal was married! That must be it. That must be why the site agitated him so. Neal was married. He shouldn't be leading Kel on like that.

The main door opened and Yuki entered. This time, Dom allowed his eyes to return to the dancing pair intentionally. Neal had already left Kel standing alone and was hurrying over to his wife eagerly. But Kel didn't seem upset. She just laughed and left the dance floor to return to her seat. A knot in Dom's stomach loosened.

He needed to do something. His mind was wandering very near dangerous places.

-

With a sigh Dom returned to his seat. For the last half hour or so he'd been flirting/dancing with several different court ladies, but somehow they bored him more than usual tonight. His eyes roamed again.

He saw the group of knights—Kel, Owen, Merric, Seaver, and…Cleon. He nearly groaned; he had never particularly liked Cleon. He wasn't sure why, he had no reason to dislike him. Cleon placed a hand on Kel's shoulder and muttered something in her ear. She laughed. Dom's stomach clenched again.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." Dom jerked around in his seat. He hadn't heard Neal come up behind him. He was smiling knowingly. No, 'smiling' was the wrong word. He was smirking.

"Jealous?" Dom repeated. "Of who, you?" He laughed, "As if."

"Well, that too. But no."

"Then I have no idea what you're talking about," he lied, and returned to staring around the dance floor, arms folded across his chest. Neal took a seat next to his cousin.

"If you say so."

Once again, his attention drew back to Kel every time he tried to keep it elsewhere, as if magnetized. She laughed with Cleon, smiled at Seaver, shook her head at Owen with a chuckle…Every time his stomach clenched tighter and each time he yanked his eyes away.

_I am _not _jealous_.

His eyes flickered to Kel again.

_Am I?_

At that moment she looked up and their eyes met across the room. She smiled at him and his breath caught in his chest.

_Damn it. I am._

A/N: Too much of a cliffy? If it is, tell me. Maybe I'll write another chapter or so—make the ending a bit more…final.


	2. Part Two

A/N: Well, you asked for it. So here it is, the extended version:

How could this have happened?! They only saw each other off and on, after all, and then only strictly on business! They'd been friends, of course. How could anyone _not_ be friends with Kel? She was so—

He smacked his forehead with his fist. There he went again! It was like a light had just been lit in the back of his mind, which opened this whole new idea to…_her._

He'd _never_ thought of her this way—never even _considered_ that he might…but now he couldn't stop! His mind just automatically wandered to her. And it was driving him mad!

Was this how Neal felt when he first realized he lov—_liked_ Yuki? Dom severely hoped not because everyone was able to tell Neal was in lo—um…had feelings for her. Dom hoped he wasn't so transparent. This whole idea was new to him, he'd hate to find out everyone new of his…feelings, before he even did!

Oh who was he kidding? "Like" nothing—he was flat out in love.

_How_ could he not have realized this? When he thought about it now, really thought about it—without all the panic running through his head, he realized that he'd been in love for a long while. But _how?!_

He was crazy. That was the only explanation. Of all the women he had courted, of every woman he'd ever _met, _why, _why_ did he have to fall in love with the Lady Knight? The one person who'd never return his feelings. Why couldn't he have stayed blissfully unaware of his situation?

He'd hoped that the cold night air would help clear his head and let him calm down, but all he was doing was walking around in circles through gardens. And he had to get back to the ball eventually…

"Dom?" he flinched and turned to face the one person he'd give anything to avoid right now. "Are you all right?" Kel asked.

"I'm fine," he said quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly, but right now he wasn't thinking too clearly. "Just fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're walking in circles."

"Well I just…um…wanted some fresh air." It wasn't a complete lie, he told himself. "What are _you_ doing out here?"

"The same. It was getting a pretty crowded in there, you know?" Did he ever. She looked at him. "You sure you're ok?"

"Fine."

"You're lying," she accused. "What's really going on?" He hesitated—with no idea what to say. "Come on, Dom. You can tell me."

He nearly laughed. _You have no idea…_he thought.

"You'll laugh," he told her.

"I won't, I promise."

He hesitated. "Ok." He chose his words carefully. "There's this girl..."

"Oh really?" She wasn't laughing, but her voice sounded odd.

"Yes, and we've…been friends a very, very long time. And all of a sudden I'm…seeing her differently. Well, it's not exactly sudden. I just suddenly realized it."

"So who's the lucky girl? Anyone I know?"

"You might…" he said carefully, not wanting to give it away. "But the trouble is I don't know if she feels the same. Actually I'm quite certain she doesn't."

"Well does she know how you feel?"

"I don't think so."

"You haven't told her, then?"

"Definitely not."

"Well you'll never know how she feels if you don't tell her."

He thought about this. "I guess that's true," he admitted. "But how do I tell her? I can't just go up to her and say 'Hey, I love you.'"

"Why not?" He couldn't tell if she was kidding or not. He starred at her. "Hey, personally I think men put way to much stress on how they say things when what's important is _what_ they say."

He blinked. "So you're saying I should just tell her point blank?"

"Yup." Her voice still sounded strange. "But if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go back inside now. It's—it's getting a little chilly out here."

"Ok, thanks for the advice." She turned to walk away. Dom made a split second decision. "Hey Kel?"

"Yes?"

He licked his lips nervously. "I love you."

He hadn't turned to watch her leave and he didn't turn now, but he heard her freeze behind him. His heart was beating so rapidly he was afraid it might give out from exhaustion any second.

"I'm…sorry, I don't think I heard that right. What did you say?"

Gathering his courage, he turned to face her. The shock was plain on her face, but he couldn't read anything else. _I guess even in a situation like this, her Yamani training holds through._ He took another deep breath. "I love you." It was barely more than a whisper, but the words seemed to ring in the garden's silence, lingering in the air, holding the balance of his heart tight in its grip until she responded.

She shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, I think I missed that again…"

If he hadn't been so nervous he would've laughed. That was just like Kel. "You don't have to say anything," he told her softly. "Really, you don't. I just…I thought you should know." He strode passed her, avoiding her eyes, to return inside.

She grabbed his hand to stop him. "Dom, I…I don't know what to say…"

"I told you, you don't have to say anything. I mean…I knew you wouldn't—I knew you didn't feel that way."

"No! It's not that…You just—surprised me. I don't not—I mean…well…" She was blushing now. "I do feel tha—that way…"

She kept babbling, and it took some time for him to process what she had said. When he did process it, he cut off her babblings by covering her mouth with his. After a few moments he pulled back, leaving only a sliver of air separating their lips.

She didn't allow that for very long though, she pulled him back for another kiss.

-

Unknown to the pair, another couple watched them from a balcony overhead.

"Well it's about time," Neal muttered into Yuki's ear. "It took them long enough."

A/N: Better? More…final? Hope you liked it! Please R&R.


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